Matchday 15 of the Indian Super League ends with Mumbai City taking on Bengaluru in what promises to be a thrilling contest at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday from 7:30 PM IST onwards.
Mumbai City, at home, is always a force to be reckoned with, but their fortress was breached in their last game in Mumbai. The Islanders are currently in fifth place on the table, having picked up 25 points from 13 games so far. Petr Kratky’s team will, however, take heart from the form new signee Iker Guarrotxena has shown since his arrival.
Bengaluru on the other hand, have been misfiring all season and are yet to register a victory in the league since the mid-season break. They are currently on the eighth spot, having 15 points from 15 games but they still have a decent chance of making it to the playoffs if they can have a string of results going their way.
Current Form
Mumbai City is coming on the back of an impressive 1-0 win away to East Bengal. Former Goa forward Iker sealed the 3 points with his strike in Kolkata. However, they did lose 2-3 to Jamshedpur in their last league clash at home which was their first loss at home in the league this season.
Tiri and Alberto Noguera were both on target but they fell short as strikes from Imran Khan and Jeremy Manzarro helped Jamshedpur triumph and the Islanders will be desperate to make amends.
Bengaluru have had a mixed bag of results since the league restarted, registering 1 loss, 1 win and 1 draw coming into this clash. They dropped points away to Jamshedpur in their last fixture with Suresh Singh coming clutch with a thunderstrike. However, the indifferent form of Sunil Chhetri has seriously impeded their goal-scoring abilities this season.
Head coach Gerard Zaragoza’s primary worry will be his team’s lacklustre performance in front of the goal though, as they are the joint second-lowest scorers in the season so far.
Head to Head Record
Across all competitions, the two sides have faced each other 15 times and the bragging rights are shared. Both Mumbai City and Bengaluru have won 7 times each, with one game ending in a draw.
In the reverse fixture this season at the Sree Kanteerava, the Islanders thrashed the home side 4-0 with El Khayati, Jorge Diaz, Akash Mishra and Lallianzuala Chhangte all striking gold.
Team News
Mehtab Singh and Yoell van Nieff will be both available for selection against Bengaluru as they come back having served a suspension after picking up 4 yellow cards. Vikram Partap Singh is currently on 3 yellow cards and could face suspension in the next game if he picks up one more card on Sunday.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Gurkirat Singh continue to be unavailable as they serve their suspensions following Mumbai City’s acrimonious exit in the Kalinga Super Cup semi-final.
Suresh Singh could be the key man for Bengaluru once again
For Bengaluru, no injuries ail them currently so the playing XI will be picked based on performances in training. Suresh Singh and Aleksander Jovanovic have both picked up 3 yellow cards though, so they could face suspensions if they receive one more booking.
Predicted Starting XIs
Mumbai City (4-1-4-1): Phurba Lachenpa; Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Tiri, Akash Mishra; Yoell van Nieff; Vikram Partap Singh, Jayesh Rane, Alberto Noguera, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Iker Guarrotxena
Bengaluru(4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Nikhil Poojary, Chinglensana Singh, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Roshan Naorem Singh; Halicharan Narzary, Harsh Patre, Suresh Singh; Sivasakthi Narayanan, Javi Hernandez, Sunil Chhetri
Prediction
One can expect Mumbai City to bounce back into form at home as well, given how lacklustre the Blues have looked so far this season. It’s unlikely to see the Islanders dropping points in this clash.